President Trump “suggested on Saturday that he believes the controversial policy of family separations could continue in the United States and that the practice could dissuade immigrants from entering the country illegally,” NBC News reports.
Said Trump: “I will say this: If they feel there will be separation, they don’t come.”
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds Democratic candidates for the House lead Republicans by 11 percentage points among registered voters, 53% to 42%.
“That holds among likely voters across a range of turnout scenarios, with 12- to 14-point Democratic leads. It’s difficult for Democrats to hold their vote share in the shift from registered to likely voters, especially in midterms – a testament to Democratic motivation this year.”
Washington Post: “Enthusiasm is up across almost all demographic groups, but the increases are greater among younger adults, nonwhite voters and those who say they favor Democrats for the House.”
CNN: “The meetings are coming to light now only because of internal memos and other notes, released through a Freedom of Information Act request, that reveal these meetings and others that were not noted on his calendar, glaring omissions from what is supposed to be a complete record of the secretary’s activities.”
“The monthly calendars the Interior Department has released publicly in response to Freedom of Information Act requests have often left off or obscured some meetings. More detailed accounts of Zinke’s time are found in separate briefing memos prepared by his staff, which have not been released with the calendars and were obtained only by filing another FOIA request.”
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A man falsely told congressional candidate Scott Wallace (D) that he ”files for Bucks County Courier” while questioning him on camera as a part-time tracker with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s (R-PA) campaign, which cut ties with him after learning of his behavior, the Bucks County Courier reports.
The latest CNN Senate forecast: Republicans will hold 52 seats (and maintain control of the Senate) next Congress while Democrats will hold just 48. Anything between Republicans holding 47 seats and 57 seats is within the margin of error.
Harry Enten: “Republican hopes of holding the Senate look as bright as ever. Thanks to clear Republican advantages in North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas in our forecast, the Democratic path to a Senate majority is currently blocked. All of those races are within the margin of error, but they aren’t razor tight.”
“For 2020 presidential implications, however, the forecast has good news for Democrats. President Donald Trump was able to win in 2016 because he broke the Democratic stranglehold on the Midwest. Specifically, he took Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin… All of these states except Iowa have a Senate race in 2018, and Democrats lead in all of them.”
Former three-term New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited New Hampshire Saturday, further fueling speculation that he may run for president in 2020, the AP reports.
Bloomberg, who recently re-registered as a Democrat, said that he is focused on the midterm elections but “we’ll see what happens down the road” when asked about a presidential bid.
“This Congress has been the best two years of my time here.”
— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
Jonathan Swan: “Washington litigator Pat Cipollone is expected to be President Trump’s pick to replace Don McGahn as White House Counsel.”
“Cipollone has already begun the process of filling out his necessary paperwork, according to one of those sources. (As with any decision in Trumpworld, the president could reverse it or some other obstacle could emerge in the paperwork process. But as of today, it’s expected to be Cipollone.)”
New York Times: “Early in his presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump dismissed political data as an ‘overrated’ tool. But after he won the Republican nomination, his team began building a database that offers a pipeline into the heart of the party’s base, a comprehensive list including the email addresses and cellphone numbers of as many as 20 million supporters.”
“Now, consultants close to the Trump campaign are ramping up efforts to put that database — by far the most sought-after in Republican politics — to use, offering it for rent to candidates, conservative groups and even businesses. It is an arrangement that has the potential to help the Republican Party in key midterm races, while providing a source of revenue for President Trump’s campaign and the consultants involved.”
“In a worrisome sign for two endangered Orange County lawmakers, a major Republican Party funding group has passed over the pair in its opening round of broadcast television advertising across Southern California,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“The omission of Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Mimi Walters by the Congressional Leadership Fund, a political action committee closely aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), comes at a crucial inflection point in the midterm election when the two parties begin assessing their likely winners and losers.”
New York Times: “Air Force One has become a flying call center, the Oval Office, a revolving door of journalists, dignitaries and celebrities. Rock stars and cabinet secretaries wander the White House driveway, a place that at any given moment can be the site of an impromptu news conference.”
“When President Trump enters one of the more talkative cycles of his presidency — and ahead of the midterms, post-Supreme Court confirmation, he is definitely in one — the environment around him becomes a stage, and inevitable questions of a grand strategy arise.”
“But there is none, people close to him say. His aides are simply clearing a path as the president speaks — and speaks, and speaks, and speaks — up for himself.”
New York Times: “As an edgy, divided nation heads into a crucial election, much of the attention is focused on the anti-Trump animus of suburban women, which seems to have gained a few degrees in intensity over the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett M. Kavanaugh.”
“Much less examined are their male counterparts. While recent polls show that white women with a college degree favor Democratic House candidates by a large margin, 20 points or more, white college-educated men — who focus more singularly on economic issues, according to surveys — are a potential bulwark for the president and his party. It is especially true in suburban battleground districts that are likely to help decide the next House majority.”
President Trump called Confederate commander Robert E. Lee “incredible” and claimed President Abraham Lincoln had a “phobia” because he kept losing to Lee during the Civil War, the Washington Post reports.
The comments came at a rally in Ohio during an anecdote about Ohio-born President Ulysses S. Grant’s alleged drinking problems.
Said Trump: “So Robert E. Lee was a great general. And Abraham Lincoln developed a phobia. He couldn’t beat Robert E. Lee. Robert E. Lee was winning battle after battle after battle.”
He continued: “And Abraham Lincoln came home, he said, ‘I can’t beat Robert E. Lee. They said to Lincoln, ‘You can’t use him anymore, he’s an alcoholic.’ And Lincoln said, ‘I don’t care if he’s an alcoholic, frankly, give me six or seven more just like him.’ He started to win.”
“Over the past decade, Jared Kushner’s family company has spent billions of dollars buying real estate. His personal stock investments have soared. His net worth has quintupled to almost $324 million,” the New York Times reports.
“And yet, for several years running, Mr. Kushner — President Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser — appears to have paid almost no federal income taxes.”
“His low tax bills are the result of a common tax-minimizing maneuver that, year after year, generated millions of dollars in losses for Mr. Kushner, according to the documents. But the losses were only on paper — Mr. Kushner and his company did not appear to actually lose any money. The losses were driven by depreciation, a tax benefit that lets real estate investors deduct a portion of the cost of their buildings from their taxable income every year.”
President Trump told 60 Minutes that the Saudis could be behind the disappearance of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi and, if so, the U.S. would inflict “severe punishment.”
He also said the matter is especially serious because, “this man was a reporter.”
He added: “There’s something– you’ll be surprised to hear me say that, there’s something really terrible and disgusting about that if that was the case.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden, in some of his harshest criticism of President Trump to date, said that the president was “trashing American values” and undermining institutions to “amass power,” the New York Times reports.
Said Biden: “He is just trashing American values the way he talks about people, the way he makes fun of people, the way he denigrates folks. I got to tell you, I think there is a method to his madness because he wants you to get down in the mosh pit with him.”
“A deluge of Democratic spending in the final days of the battle for the House has triggered recriminations among Republicans and forced the party to lean on its biggest patron to salvage their majority,” Politico reports.
“Since the end of July, Republican candidates in the 70 most contested races have reserved $60 million in TV ads, compared to $109 million for Democratic hopefuls… The disparity is almost certain to grow, as former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg makes good on plans to spend nearly $80 million to help Democrats flip the House.”
“Missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi may have recorded his own death, a Turkish newspaper reported Saturday morning,” CNN reports.
“Khashoggi turned on the recording function of his Apple Watch before walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, according to Sabah newspaper.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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